blog.mode: addressing fashion

Left: John Galliano (British, born Gibraltar, 1960). Coat, fall/winter 1996–97. Magenta and forest green printed ivory felted wool with light blue, gray, and white striped silk with brocaded crest lining. Purchase, Irene Lewisohn Bequest, 2004 (2004.410). Right: John Galliano (British, born Gibraltar, 1960). Dress, fall/winter 1996–97. Beige laser-cut suede Gift of John Galliano S.A., 2005 (2005.46).

John Galliano’s fashion presentations, whether under his eponymous label or for the House of Dior, are typically theatrical extravaganzas. His themes are often wild syntheses of anachronistic juxtapositions and geographically conflated narratives. Read more »

Vivienne Westwood (British, b. 1941). “Propaganda” Dress, fall/winter 2005–6. Lilac silk faille. Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2006 (2006.197).

Vivienne Westwood, arguably the most influential British fashion designer of the twentieth century, revels in incendiary provocation and a defiance of convention but nonetheless finds beauty and inspiration in the past. Read more »

Azzedine Alaïa (French, b.  Tunisia, 1940). Dress, fall/winter 1986-87. Light green rayon knit. Millia Davenport and Zipporah Fleisher Fund, 2007 (2007.82).

Azzedine Alaïa is a designer enamored of the challenges inherent in the transformation of the two-dimensional textile into the sculptural three-dimensional garment. Read more »

Geoffrey Beene (American, 1927–2004). Dress, fall/winter 1986–87. Black silk jersey and silver panné velvet. Gift of Geoffrey Beene, 2001 (2001.393.60)

Geoffrey Beene was an admirer of the work of Adrian, especially of his carefully mitered striped suits and elaborately pieced crepe dresses. Read more »

In the mid-1970s Issey Miyake conflated regional apparel traditions with Western high-fashion aesthetics. With his completely original, virtually unshaped pattern pieces, Miyake inaugurated his APOC, or “A Piece of Cloth,” concept for apparel design. Read more »

Madame Grès (French, 1903–1993). Evening Gown, ca. 1979. Red silk taffeta. Anonymous Gift, 2005 (2005.294.1).

Although Mme Grès is best known for her densely pleated, silk jersey “Goddess” gowns, she equally favored eveningwear in more varied silhouettes rendered in heavy silk crepes, mohair knits, and silk taffetas. Read more »

Yeohlee Teng (Malaysian, b. 1951). “Bellows” Dress, fall/winter 2007–8. Mercury silver Lurex. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Yeohlee Teng, 2007 (2007.375.3).

From her earliest collections, Yeohlee’s approach to garment construction set her apart from most American design houses because of her interest in the structural possibilities of cloth. Read more »

Rudi Gernreich (American, born Austria, 1922–1985). Dress, ca. 1969. Black wool jersey and silver metal zipper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Funds from various donors, Isabel Shults Fund, and Millia Davenport and Zipporah Fleisher Fund, 2005 (2005.261).

Rudi Gernreich was originally trained as a dancer. Often working with colorful double-knits and jerseys, Gernreich predicated his designs on the notion of the body in movement. Read more »

Christian Dior (French, 1905–1957). Eventail Dinner Dress, fall/winter 1948–49. Black wool crepe, pink silk crush velvet, and black silk faille. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Isabel Shults Fund, 2006 (2006.20a–c).

After the sartorial constraints of World War II, Christian Dior’s presentation of 1947, with its emphasis on a silhouette with rounded shoulders, wasp waist, padded hips, and lowered hemline, created a sensation. Read more »

Gilbert Adrian (American, 1903–1959). Print by Salvador Dalí (Spanish, 1904–1989). Dress, 1947. Light blue rayon crepe with pink, black, and gray printed Dalí motif and patches of polychrome printed rayon crepe appliqué. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Jones Apparel Group, USA, 2002 (2002.326.26a–c).

As a costume designer for MGM during Hollywood’s Golden Age, Gilbert Adrian (born Adolph Greenberg) dressed, among other stars of the studio, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, and Greta Garbo in some of their most famous roles. Read more »